Real judgements, distilled
Court judgements broken down into the case type, how the decision played out, and the lesson worth remembering, with the full judgement available as a PDF.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1094
An older qualification must still satisfy the eligibility rules governing the appointment sought. Here, the certificate's early date did not secure reinstatement, and rejection of eligibility should not be confused with a conclusive finding that the certificate was forged.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1095
A party benefiting from a conditional stay must meet its deposit requirement or face enforcement. The additional ₹15 crore deposit secures the pending dispute; it does not settle the land's final compensation or amount to an immediate payment to the landowners.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1093
An alleged attempt to kill does not become a lesser offence simply because the victim avoided a fatal injury. Restoring this charge means the accusation must be tried; it does not establish that the accused is guilty.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1090
For the assessment in this case, assistance reducing ordinary manufacturing costs was taxable even though the government wanted to encourage industry. The purpose and actual operation of the particular subsidy mattered more than its general development label.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1091
Proof that someone caused a serious injury does not by itself prove the additional ingredients of robbery. A court can substitute a lesser offence supported by the evidence; the sentencing reduction here depended on Appa's particular circumstances.
Special Leave Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 1092
Someone challenging an election must ensure that the personal-presentation requirement is met and can be proved. Merely entering the court building does not establish compliance, and a filing defect can end the challenge before the election allegations are examined.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1088
An employee who retires on 30 June may be entitled to the increment that falls due on 1 July after completing a year of service. Authorities that delay paying the amounts due must pay interest after the deadline set by the court.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1089
Recruitment must follow the qualifications stated in the advertisement and the governing Recruitment Rules. A court will not override a merit-based eligibility decision made under those rules merely because the candidate concerned was higher in the written test.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8797
A person who occupied property only because of employment has no independent right to remain once the employment and decree end. Even when a petition fails, courts can make practical arrangements to let a person recover personal belongings.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreThe appellant, born into the Madiga Scheduled Caste community but a practicing Christian Pastor for about a decade, alleged that in January 2021 he was assaulted, verbally abused with caste slurs, and threatened by a group of villagers (respondent nos. 2 to 7) while conducting and returning from Sunday prayer meetings. He filed an FIR invoking the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with IPC offences of wrongful restraint, hurt, and criminal intimidation. The Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed the entire criminal proceeding, holding that as a practicing Christian he could not claim the protection of the SC/ST Act (since caste status is tied to specified religions under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950) and that the witness statements did not sufficiently corroborate the IPC allegations either. The appellant challenged this quashing before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the High Court's quashing order in full. On the SC/ST Act charges, the Court laid down detailed principles holding that conversion to a religion other than Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist results in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status under Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, regardless of birth, and that this status can only be regained through proven bona fide reconversion coupled with acceptance by the original community: none of which the appellant had established, since he remained a practicing Pastor. On the IPC charges, applying the settled Bhajan Lal guidelines for quashing criminal proceedings, the Court found that the allegations of restraint, assault, and threats rested almost entirely on the appellant's own uncorroborated statement, with independent witnesses either absent from the scene or giving accounts that contradicted the claim of a large mob attack, making continuation of the prosecution an abuse of process.
A person who has genuinely converted to a religion not recognised under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (i.e., other than Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist) loses Scheduled Caste status and the protections of the SC/ST Act unless he proves a bona fide reconversion accepted by his original community; separately, criminal proceedings resting solely on an uncorroborated complainant account, contradicted by independent witnesses, can be quashed as an abuse of process even before trial.
